Today's post was going to be something lighthearted since it is my first on this new blog, but I hope this one will make some people think. Ever since the car has been invented there have been accidents, and too many of them result in the loss of life. My post today is about that last point hitting close to home!
My youngest son was sitting next to me a couple days ago. He kept looking at me like he wanted to say something and then going back to watching TV. I asked him what he was thinking about and then he asked me if I had heard about the boy that lived close to his house dying in an accident. I told him I'd heard something about it. He said that the car was full of all of his friends and he was supposed to go with them, but he decided not to because he was tired and just wanted to go home. Then he proceeded to tell me what happened and how thankful he was that he didn't go with them. (Me too!)
The thing is this: why? Why do people speed at all? I don't get it and I never have. Is there anything in the world that's so important that you would risk your life for? I'm not talking about emergency situations here, just leave those on the side. I'm talking about people afraid of being late for work, wanting to get to the mall or store before it closes or just trying to impress someone with your driving skills. Seriously?
The thing is this: why? Why do people speed at all? I don't get it and I never have. Is there anything in the world that's so important that you would risk your life for? I'm not talking about emergency situations here, just leave those on the side. I'm talking about people afraid of being late for work, wanting to get to the mall or store before it closes or just trying to impress someone with your driving skills. Seriously?
The boys that were in the car, five of them, were between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. The boy driving was seventeen years old. The boy that was killed, also seventeen, was sitting in back on the passenger side. They said the driver was going 200 KPH (about 124 MPH)! They skidded out of control and went off the road shaving off palm trees and whatever else got in the way. Finally, they hit a big one and that stopped them, and that's what killed the young man in the back seat.
I can't know what that mother felt, but just imagining it brought tears to my eyes and a bawling fit that lasted a good few minutes. The boys were both sitting here staring at me. "Do you get it?", I asked them, "Can you imagine what all of us, me, your father and your siblings, would feel if something like that happened to one of you?" I made them promise me never to drive like that (for the thousandth time), and they promised, but where is the guarantee? When will kids finally listen to their parents? When will people stop jeopardizing the lives of others? Will they ever learn?
I can't know what that mother felt, but just imagining it brought tears to my eyes and a bawling fit that lasted a good few minutes. The boys were both sitting here staring at me. "Do you get it?", I asked them, "Can you imagine what all of us, me, your father and your siblings, would feel if something like that happened to one of you?" I made them promise me never to drive like that (for the thousandth time), and they promised, but where is the guarantee? When will kids finally listen to their parents? When will people stop jeopardizing the lives of others? Will they ever learn?
Nuff said?
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